You can find plenty of cheap places to rent across the U.S. — especially in small towns where the overall cost of living is low. But you don’t necessarily have to give up the amenities of a big city just to score a cheap apartment. In fact, you can find affordable places to rent in several major metropolitan areas.

20. Baltimore

Baltimore doesn’t have the highest average apartment rent on our list. However, Maryland’s largest city ranks 20th because the median income is lower than in half of the other cities, which means a higher percentage of monthly income is consumed by rent here.

The city’s relatively low median income — along with a high crime rate and a cost of living that’s higher than in the rest of the state — give it a low livability score.

19. Tampa, Fla.

Tampa has one of the highest livability scores in our rankings thanks to its warm weather, amenities and relatively low cost of living. It’s also one of the cheapest places to retire, according to a separate study.

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18. Las Vegas

Las Vegas isn’t just a tourist destination — it’s also a good place to move for affordable rent. With the city’s relatively high median wages, monthly rent will consume about 31 percent of income. In fact, it’s one of the places where you can afford to live off less than $50,000, another GOBankingRates study found.

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17. Atlanta

Atlanta has the third-highest median rent on our list. But it’s one of the best cities to rent thanks to its relatively high median income — which means less than 31 percent of monthly salary is needed to pay rent.

16. Detroit

Detroit has the lowest median monthly rent in our rankings. However, it doesn’t make it to the top of our list because low wages in the city translates into rent consuming a higher percentage of monthly income than in other cities. Plus, its livability score — the lowest among the cities on our list — pulls it down in the rankings.

15. Phoenix

The median rent in Phoenix is among the highest on our list. But the city’s median income also is among the highest in our rankings, which is why rent consumes just 30.7 percent of the median monthly income.

14. San Antonio

Despite having relatively affordable monthly rent, the median monthly income in San Antonio is among the 10 lowest in our rankings. That’s why 31.2 percent of income is consumed by rent. Still, San Antonio is more livable than most of the cities on our list because of its overall low cost of living, warm weather and ample amenities.

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13. Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth has one of the highest livability scores on our list because it offers so many big-city amenities. But, it also has the second-highest median rent in our rankings. Renting in Fort Worth still is affordable, considering only about 30 percent of the median monthly income is consumed by rent.

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12. Indianapolis

Indianapolis had one of the largest cost of living increases in 2017 — largely because of rising home prices. Average apartment rent, on the other hand, has remained stagnant. You still can get an affordable apartment that will consume just 30.3 percent of the median monthly income.

9. Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pittsburgh has the seventh-lowest median rent on our list. Because wages are relatively low, though, rent consumes a higher percentage of monthly income than in Albuquerque or Columbus. But Pittsburgh’s higher livability score helps it land higher in our rankings.

7. Jacksonville, Fla.

When people think of big cities in Florida, Miami likely comes to mind. But Jacksonville is actually the state’s largest city and a cheap place to rent. Thanks to the city’s relatively high median income, only 27.8 percent goes toward rent each month.

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6. Charlotte, N.C.

The average rent in North Carolina’s largest city is actually higher than in most cities on our list. But the median monthly income is the second highest in our rankings. As a result, a smaller percentage of income is consumed by rent in Charlotte than in most large cities.

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5. Raleigh, N.C.

North Carolina’s capital and second-largest city has the highest median rent of any city on our list; it also has the highest median income. So monthly rent takes a smaller percentage of income in Raleigh than other cities. Its livability score — the highest on our list — also helps propel Raleigh to the No. 5 spot in our rankings.

3. Louisville, Ky.

Kentucky’s largest city has the fourth-lowest median rent on our list. However, it makes it to the No. 3 spot in our rankings because the percentage of income consumed by rent is the third lowest among large cities.

2. Memphis, Tenn.

With the second-lowest median rent among the cities on the list, Memphis is one of the best cities to rent. It ranks higher than Louisville and Kansas City because a slightly smaller percentage of income is consumed by rent.

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1. Oklahoma City, Okla.

Oklahoma doesn’t have the cheapest rent (it’s actually the sixth lowest), but a relatively high median income in Oklahoma offsets the fact that a handful of other cities have lower median rent. It’s the only city on our list where the percentage of income consumed by rent is less than 25 percent.

Methodology: The list of cities was based on 75 largest cities by population. Monthly income was calculated by dividing median household income by 12. Median rent was divided by monthly income to get the percentage of income consumed by rent. Cities in which rent consumed 40% or more of monthly income were screened out. Each city was given score for 1) median rent; 2) percentage of income consumed by rent; 3) livability score. The top 20 cities that scored the best made the final ranking.

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